drifted away. She had this desperate look on her face that told me
no matter what Camila said, Amy wouldn’t leave me until she knew
I was okay.
I gave her a slight nod of reassurance, which she took as her
cue to hop out of the car. None of this was her fault, and I had every
intention of apologizing to her for being so cold. As soon as I got
this horrible conversation over with.
• 129 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
Avoiding Camila’s gaze, I watched Amy run up the front steps.
She stopped halfway to the door, and three other freshman, Ebony,
Gwen, and Maddie, ran to meet her. They were safe inside before
Camila said anything. Her silken voice floated over the soft music.
I missed the way it used to soothe and excite me, even if it had only
been for a few days.
“I’d prefer it if I didn’t have to read your thoughts, so would
you care to tell me what’s the matter?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes. I do.”
I thought about how happy Amy and Danni were. I pictured
just how cute Micah and Anna-Jade looked walking hand-in-hand
across the quad. I’d wanted that, and I would never have it with
Camila. I thought of how things had been just a week ago, the night
Camila and I met and how shitastic things had been since. Now
seemed like a perfect time to draw a new line with her. There was no
way I could spend another minute wishing she wanted a relationship
we couldn’t have.
I looked back toward the house and took a deep breath, pushing
my sadness aside and replacing it with some bitterness and a little
rage that had been fighting to get to the surface. Then I worked
up the nerve to let Camila know just how crazy I was before she
formed any more opinions about me. Or before I spent another day
infatuated with her. It was better to just spill the beans now and have
her kick me out of the car so we could both just get on with our lives.
She could fondly remember me as the little lunatic who fell for
her after two nights of hooking up, and I’d think back on the forty-
eight hours I’d actually thought I was adult enough to handle no-
strings-attached sex with the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
“Fine.” I turned in the seat to face Camila. “I’ll tell you what’s
bothering me.”
She cut the engine off and settled back against the leather. Her
expression was calm, but that didn’t ease the air between us.
“I’m in love with you. Well, obsessed might be a better word
considering I don’t actually know enough about you for it to be
considered love. But yeah, I’m obsessed with you. I’ve been thinking
• 130 •
Better Off red
about you non-stop, all week. Actually, that’s not true. I masturbated
thinking about you last week, so really I’ve been obsessed for about
ten days now. I didn’t sleep at all because I was praying you would
call me.”
She hadn’t even blinked so I just kept going.
“And then I spent hours and hours just thinking about how
stupid it was for me to feel anything for you. You’re, well, you and
I was actually sad because I want to be with you and we can’t be
together. Then, just when I’m sort of coming to grips with the fact
that I’m crazy and pathetic, I come back to my room to find Amy
feeding you. I forgot what she sounds like when she’s coming, so
thanks for that.” I started losing some steam. I took another deep
breath and drove my point home.
“That’s what’s wrong with me. I’m obsessed with you and
there’s nothing I can do about it. Oh, and I have to spend the next
four years knowing that you’re making my roommate come at least
once a week, but that’s none of my business, so we can ignore that
part,” I said as I slapped my thighs.
Finally, she blinked. “Is there anything else?”
“Nope. That’s it. I’m gonna head inside. I hope you enjoy your
weekend.”
“Ginger.”
“What?”
“At any point were you planning to tell me how you feel?”
“No.” Why would I do that?
avoiding you, and that I intentionally fed from Amy to rub all of that
in your face?”
I thought for a quick second. “Well, yes and no. I don’t think
you were rubbing Amy in my face, but the avoiding and the no
feelings, that sounds about right.”
“I apologize for the situation with Amy. I need to feed, but
I understand that doing it in the space you share with her was a
mistake. I won’t do it again.”
“I don’t care. Seriously. I know now, so it’s not a big deal.”
• 131 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“I do care. It will not happen again.” She looked down for
a moment and then turned toward me. I think she was actually
nervous. I didn’t think vampires could get nervous.
“I had to fire one of my guys down at my tattoo shop because
he’s been self-medicating with meth. I think you heard part of that
conversation on Sunday morning.”
“Yeah. I remember,” I muttered.
“He came back on Monday and got himself shot three times
trying to rob the shop. That kept me busy through Wednesday night.
That’s why I wasn’t there when you met with Rodrick and Natasha.
I wanted to be there. They enjoyed spending time with you by the
way.”“I like them too. And I’m sorry about the shop.”
“Jamie is fine now, but thank you. I didn’t call you or come see
you last night because Cleo told me you had a statistics test today. I
didn’t want to distract you from your studying.”
“Oh.” Okay, now I was feeling bad.
“I thought about you all week. I almost switched forms today
and followed you to class, but I thought that would have been a little
insane.”
“I wouldn’t have minded,” I said quietly.
She sat up quickly, a scowl touching her face. “And where are
you getting these ideas that we can’t be together?”
“Cleo and Benny—”
“What? They told you I wasn’t allowed to date? Listen, the two
of them may know a lot about my kind and how our world operates,
but they don’t know a thing about my personal life or the personal
lives of any of the other sister-queens. A while back, Faeth dated one
of the girls for eight years. Kina has been seeing some kindergarten
teacher for the last six months.
“I can do whatever the fuck I want. I didn’t say anything to you
because you’ve been through plenty of changes lately, including
joining a sorority against your will.” I looked away from her wry
grin as she went on.
“I didn’t want you to feel pressured into a relationship with me
because it would be complicated, but if you wanted me, it would be
• 132 •
Better Off red
something. Please don’t listen to the girls when it comes to things
between the two of us.”
“Because it’ll lead to a conversation like this?”
“Exactly. So, Red, what do you want?”
“I…I…” I wasn’t expecting her to ask me that.
“Because I’ll take you out tomorrow night on a real date. If
you’ll let me. We’ll eat at one of the restaurants I own, and if you’ll
allow it, I’ll make love to you in the best penthouse suite of my best
hotel—till about four a.m. I have to be back before sunrise.”
“You want to go out with me?” I said. At this point, the
bitterness and the rage were replaced by something like sunflowers
and daisies.
“Yes.” She reached across the center console and tucked my
hair behind my ear. My skin tingled where her palm brushed against
my cheek. “We can go out tonight if you want to, blow off the girls.”
“I’d like to watch movies with you tonight. And I need a little
time to find something to wear on our date.”
“I’ll take you however I get you, Red, but I won’t complain if
you want to get all prettied up. Are you sure there’s nothing else?”
“I want your number. Right now.”
“Your phone, please.”
I dug my cell out of my pocket and handed it to her.
“And what’s your last name?”
Before she answered, she got out of the car and walked around
to my side, entering her number into my cell as she went. When she
opened my door for me, I hopped down and let her slide my phone
back in my hand as she took my bag from me. Her hips guided me
off to the side so she could close my door. The grooves in the rear
handle pressed into my back. I barely noticed as Camila leaned into
me. Our faces were only inches apart. Our breasts were touching.
My nipples were instantly hard, and I realized how hard her nipples
were, even through all our layers of clothes. And with a dull ache,
my pussy started to drip.
She looked at my lips, licking her own. “My driver’s license
says Sanchez. I change it every ten years.”
• 133 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
She leaned in closer and my head automatically fell to the side.
Her warm breath on my neck made me drip even more.
“Why would you think I wouldn’t want to be with you?” she
asked.“Um, I don’t know. I’m a college freshman and you’re…”
“An undead lady creature of the night?”
“That and I…”
She pulled back, hearing the hesitation in my voice. “What?”
The genuine concern on her face melted my heart. I had to be honest
with her.
I took a deep breath and blurted the rest out. I told Camila
everything that Benny and Cleo had told us, about how the sister-
queens viewed us and how they only wanted us for our blood and
for the sex, which had been my suspicion from the very beginning. I
even spilled to her how jealous I was of Anna-Jade, Amy, and their
new relationships. Even Rodrick and Natasha. And then I told her
that I understood we had no real future together. I’d be gone in four
years. I wrapped things up with the reasons I didn’t want to be a
vampire myself. I was cool with being in on the secret, but I loved
my family and I had no need to serve the master in any new ways.
“I do want to go out with you,” I said. “But I understand there’s
an expiration date to us. Even if your master was okay with me
changing all the way, I can’t leave my parents. It would kill them if
they thought I was dead.”
“Red, you’re so smart, but you think too damn much. You
understand you started our relationship and planned our breakup
before I even knew you liked me? Sorry, before I knew you were
obsessed with me.”
“When you put it that way…”
“Let’s try a date first and then we’ll discuss your plans for after
graduation. Maybe somewhere in there we can get to know each
other a little better. No changing necessary. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Okay. And so you know…” She dropped her voice to a whisper
and leaned in close again. This time her lips brushed against mine.
“I’m pretty obsessed with you too.”
• 134 •
Better Off red
The next thing I knew, we were kissing, her soft lips slowly
caressing mine. God, I’d missed her so much. Her arm came around
my waist and I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. Our breasts
rubbed together. It was a perfect kiss until her tongue slid past my lips.
The most mouthwatering taste hit my tongue, something
beyond her own delicious spice. It sent a tingle over the crown of
my head and straight down to my clit, followed immediately by a
thousand-volt shock to my heart.
I jerked back, covering my mouth.
“Ginger, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
I shook my head. My tongue was still tingling, my skin
vibrating. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to locate the source of
the pain, but there wasn’t any. There never was, only tiny aftershocks
in my fingers and toes, a jolt I confused with pain. After a moment,
I opened my eyes and slowly pulled my hand away. Camila gently
placed her hands on either side of my face.
“What happened?” she asked.
I swallowed, scanning her face before I answered. I didn’t want
to freak her out even more.
“When you drink our blood—human blood—what does it taste
like?”
Her eyes shot wide as she processed the question. Her hands
dropped to my shoulders.
“I, uh, I guess it has its own unique flavor. I wouldn’t know
what to compare it to.”
“I think I just tasted Amy.” My face had to be glowing in the
dark. I couldn’t believe what I was saying.
“Oh.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry. Did it make you sick?”
“No. I-I like the way it tastes.” It sounded so wrong, but it
was the truth. I shuddered as the thought ran through me again. I
knew the flavor of Amy’s blood now and I enjoyed it. The taste was
delicious, sweet with a zipping tang, like berries electrified.
I gazed at Camila’s face in the golden glow of the streetlight.
She’d been living off the stuff. It would have been a little hypocritical
of her to judge me for wanting to taste more, but that’s when the
weight of what I was hit me. The daylight didn’t affect me, and I
• 135 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
couldn’t vanish into thin air, but I had a thirst for human blood. The
demon was in me.
I took a deep breath. The pocket of hysteria inside was
balancing on the edge between laughter and tears. Camila picked
up on my anxiety before I crashed either way. She stroked my hair
affectionately, kissed me softly on the cheek. The heat from her
touch helped calm my heart.
“Just think of it as another thing to add to the list. You can see
through my cloak. You can feel my influence, but you can’t fight it,
and now we know you do like the taste of human blood. And there’s
nothing wrong with that. The same part of you that craves was the
same thing that s
aved your mother’s life. And the life of her baby.”
“You’re right.” I let out a deep breath and welcomed Camila’s
arms around my waist. I’d spent the whole week sulking over my
lack of love life that I didn’t stop to consider what having vampire
blood pumping through my veins meant. And I was angry at
myself for assuming all sorts of things about Camila’s actions and
motivations. A reality check was in order, on all fronts.
I don’t know how long we stood there together. The tingling
faded. My body stopped reacting to the blood and started reacting
to the body tucked tightly against mine. The firm but slow sweep of
her hands up and down my back, the baby soft leather of her jacket
under my own fingers, her amazing scent. The night weather had
begun to get cooler, but I would have spent hours in front of the
ABO house as long as she didn’t let me go.
A deep sigh escaped when I realized that wasn’t going to happen.
There was a movie to be watched, and I had sorority bonding to do.
Damn sisterhood. My mind was exhausted. All I wanted was the
heat from Camila’s body. Add her bed. Minus the clothes.
She took a small step back. “I’ll be more careful next time. Are
you sure you’re okay?”
I looked down at myself, patted my stomach and my chest like
an idiot.
“Yeah. I’m fine. That was pretty weird, though.”
“Come. Why don’t you go join the girls? I’ll let Rodrick know
about your reaction.” She took my hand and led me to the front door.
• 136 •
Better Off red
“When will he know about my blood makeup?”
“By Monday. We’ll hold off on any other ‘experiments’ until
then, and I’ll be sure to brush after I feed from now on,” she said.
I glanced at her just in time to catch her smiling at me. Then
I giggled like a total dork. In a weird way, her fangs made the grin
even sweeter. Screw an apology. I owed Amy a solid for dragging
me through Rush. Ignorance about my blood would have been one
thing, but I never would have met Camila without Amy’s perky
insistence. And maybe Todd’s nudging helped. Missing out on any
part of Camila would have been an absolute shame. Even if I’d
become a little obsessed.
As I reached for the door handle, there was one more thing I
wanted to clear up.
“So we’re dating now?”
“Sure.” Camila’s upper lip twitched into a little grin. “What’s