poetry and seven versions of the Bible was what looked like the first
soccer ball ever stitched together. On a low sideboard near the door
sat three long black feathers tied together with a yellow ribbon, the
fragile leaves of a dried palm frond, a raw ruby the size of my head,
an antique tea set, and an ashtray from Colonial Williamsburg.
There was no real theme to the decorations, just evidence she
was the type of person who kept things that interested her or had
meaning. And maybe that she’d been alive for a very long time.
There was only one piece of art. A graffiti mural covered the
wall opposite her bookshelves. Bright swirls and blocks transformed
the space from floor to ceiling. In the center, the mash of colors
came together around a smooth black and gray portrait of Camila.
Her eyes were cast down, and there was a bright red rose in her hair.
It captured every detail of her beauty and more emotion than I’d
seen from her in the little amount of time we’d spent together.
I couldn’t hold in the “Wow” that whispered through my lips.
I turned around and found Camila grinning at me.
• 105 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Kina did it,” she said, nodding at the painting. I turned back
and stared at the details in the image. It was amazing.
I spun slowly and did a final sweep of the room. On the far wall
three computer monitors were set up on her long desk. I took a few
steps forward, being a little nosy. I held in a laugh when I looked at
the first screen. Camila was shopping for more books online. It was
adorable to think of her doing something so normal like partaking
in online retail therapy. The others showed a few dozen split screen
videos captured from various security cameras.
I looked at the gray images of an empty storefront, a busy hotel
lobby, and a short man covered in tattoos sitting in a small office.
The phone up to his ear made me think he had Camila on the line. I
glanced at the other monitor and saw images from around the ABO
house. Cleo’s Honda and Danni’s beat-up Jeep were parked in the
back among the other cars. The elevator was empty. Florencia sat in
front of the TV with Kate, Jordan, and Ruth, drinking coffee.
Upstairs was relatively quiet. Most of the girls were still asleep.
Julia and Georgiana were passed out in Julia’s bed. There was an
early morning gab session going on in Cleo’s room. Benny was
there, cuddled up with Cleo under her comforter. Amy and Danni
were both squeezing into Cleo’s papasan chair. Anna-Jade was
passed out at the foot of the bed wrapped in an ABO fleece blanket.
They all had that rumpled from sleep look, but they were laughing
at something Cleo was saying.
I wanted to feel left out, but I didn’t. Not when Camila’s arms
wrapped around me. She’d gotten off the phone without me noticing.
“Did you sleep well?” she murmured against my cheek.
I nodded and then asked, “Are there cameras in every room?”
“Yes. Just making sure my girls are safe. Last spring, the boys
from Iota planned to ‘kidnap’ a member of every sorority. They
were supposed to give Florencia a warning, but they didn’t. The
footage of their botched break-in was the only thing that kept me
from pressing charges.”
“Who’d they get?”
“Nobody. Jordan caught wind of it and told everyone. It took
them ten minutes to get in, and the house was empty.”
• 106 •
Better Off red
My eyes drifted back to the shot of the girls in Cleo’s room.
Kyle and Mel wandered into the room just as Anna-Jade had rolled
over. “Do you want to join them?” Camila’s lips softly brushed my
neck.“Not right now.”
Camila reached across the desk and pressed the speaker button
on a regular looking office phone. Considering the computer setup,
I was a little shocked she didn’t have something a little more high
tech. She pressed “four,” and it started to ring. A few seconds later,
I saw Cleo pick up a phone next to her bed.
“Helloooo,” she drawled.
“Do you ladies have plans for this morning?” Camila asked.
“I think we’re going to hit up the cafeteria in a little while and
then go to the library.”
“How long is a little while?”
“Maybe an hour or so.” Cleo gently poked Anna-Jade through
the sheets with her toe. “A.J. was on the phone with Micah until five
this morning. We’re going to let her sleep for a while before we go.
Why? Does Ginger feel like rejoining us day dwellers?” I watched
Amy on the monitor as she leaned toward the phone.
“Hi, Ginger!”
“You want to roll with us, Ginge?” Cleo asked.
“Yeah. I have to meet Greg.” We agreed I would meet them in
an hour and a half before we said our good-byes. When Camila hung
up, I watched as Cleo said something to the girls. They all burst out
laughing. I knew they were making fun of me for being teacher’s pet
and all, but whatever. I couldn’t bring myself to care. I’d just bought
myself more time with Camila. If things kept up this way between
us, there would be plenty of chances for Cleo to give me crap for
hanging out with Camila.
I looked back to the image of the empty elevator.
“Are there cameras in every room down here?”
Camila slid in closer, pressing the curve of her hips against my
body. I swallowed, pressing back. Her breath came out raggedly as
she replied.
• 107 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Of course. For my sister-queens’ protection. They still
have their privacy, but what’s stored here is more important for
reassurance.” Camila reached over and grabbed the mouse. It took
a few clicks to find the right file and cue it up to the right time. The
camera above Camila’s bedroom door was hidden, but the angle of
the lens captured the whole room. The whole bed.
It was strange to see myself asleep, but not strange enough to
quash the heat that rushed over my skin as I watched Camila’s body
between the sheets, close to mine. The covers were pulled up to our
shoulders. I still remembered drifting off, the feeling of Camila’s
fingers pressed against my stomach.
And the next second she was gone. I gasped as the sheets on
the screen fluttered flat, covering the spot where Camila had been. I
had woken up alone not even ten minutes ago, and I was in her arms
now, but something about seeing her vanish, how quick and easy it
was for her to disappear, left me hollow. I watched myself roll onto
my back. Even in my sleep, I grimaced, sensing my loneliness.
“Where’d you go?” I asked.
“Not far, Red. See.” And at that moment Camila walked back
into the frame. She had her cell phone pressed to her ear. “Rodrick
was simply checking in.”
The proof that she hadn’t abandoned me calmed my shaky nerves.
Her lips brushing against my cheek started my breathing again.
On the screen I watched her take a s
eat on the end of the bed.
She gently lifted the sheets and began caressing my legs. My sleeping
self took a deep breath and relaxed against the pillow. A few seconds
later, Camila ended her call and tossed her phone onto the dresser.
Then she crawled between my legs, under the covers. My eyes traced
the path she took underneath the silky black fabric until the outline of
her head and shoulders reached the tops of my thighs.
My body tensed the moment her head dipped lower, on the
screen, and there in her office, standing in Camila’s arms. I didn’t
remember the first strokes of her tongue, but I could feel it now
along with the tips of her fangs, dragging down my neck.
My shirt was pulled up and over my head just in time for me to
see myself wake up on the computer screen. The night before, I had
• 108 •
Better Off red
gently grasped Camila’s shoulders, rolling my hips. Now I gripped
the edge of the desk as she moved me to step out of my sweats.
On the monitor, my head pitched back into the pillow. There in
the office, she rose behind me and found my hard nipples with her
warm fingers. There was no sound on the video so I knew the moan
I heard in my ears was echoing off the walls and the wood floor and
not coming from the speakers of her computer.
She played with me forever, only touching my breasts with
her hands, refusing to go any lower. That didn’t stop my clit from
throbbing as I watched myself coming on the screen.
I remembered how the orgasm had brought me fully awake,
how I’d whimpered her name. But that hadn’t been enough to stop
her from licking and sucking. My thigh went up over her shoulder,
and I remembered the feeling of her tongue thrusting into my pussy.
A shiver ran through me now as my core clenched and dripped.
“Ginger, do you want me to make you come?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Please.”
“Why don’t I take you in the shower and you can come all over
me. Would you like that?” she replied with a deep, lusty growl.
“Yes.”
Camila turned me in her arms. I saw that same fierce burning I
was oddly starting to crave light up her eyes. A sudden bashfulness
tackled me out of nowhere and I gave in to the urge to cover my
boobs with my arms. She was just so sexy and so beautiful and
powerful. Of course I wanted her again, but I was nervous about
what would happen next.
We’d hopped the fence from the area of playful experimenting
I’d been hoping for and skipped right into porn territory. Not
somewhere I ever thought I’d go. And then there were those pesky
love feelings that only seemed to intensify as she looked at me.
I knew she could eat me alive, and this weird part of me almost
wanted her to. I wanted to give her everything, and that scared me
even more.
Cautiously, like prey easing its way to safety, I passed her and
took a few steps closer to the door.
“Go,” she said with a soft pat to my ass.
• 109 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
I walked faster into the lounge but stopped when I felt her lagging
behind. When I turned, she had just crossed through the doorway of
her office and was shedding her tank top and her underwear.
Camila bent to pull the black panties off her foot. That delicious
smile flashed across her mouth as she licked her bottom lip. “Don’t
worry. I’m still coming.” She straightened and looked me slowly up
and down.
“Do you want me to chase you?”
“No,” I blurted out. “I’m not a tease.” But I might be a little
afraid you might disappear again, I wanted to say, but I bit my
tongue. I wanted her close, no space in between us, for as long as
possible. The sun and school would separate us soon enough.
Camila came toward me and cupped my face. I sighed into her
mouth as she kissed me. God, the way she kissed should be illegal.
It wasn’t right or fair to unleash that kind of perfect, brain melting
technique and that taste into someone’s mouth. When she pulled
away, I realized my pussy wasn’t just wet; the insides of my thighs
were soaked.
Her nostrils flared.
“No, Red. You surely are not a tease.”
She turned me again so I was facing the bathroom then wrapped
her arms around my waist.
“Is this better?” she asked, nuzzling her chin against my
shoulder, pressing her breasts against my back.
“Yes, it is,” I managed to say.
Her feet staggered on either side of mine, Camila shuffled us
into the bathroom, keeping her arms tightly around me. She flicked
on the lights and then maneuvered us over to the shower. Under the
hot spray, I turned my face to her, struck silent by just how hot she
looked covered in water with her dark spikes slicked back. I wanted
to lick her all over.
She pulled me close and kissed me again, letting her hands
wander all over my back and further down to my ass. I let her go
wild, wanting her to touch me everywhere, aching even more as she
pressed herself against me. Feeling her hot slickness and the firm
ridge of her clit almost sent me over the edge.
• 110 •
Better Off red
The full curve of her thigh slid between my legs while she
guided my arms up and around her shoulders.
“Hold on to me,” she said into my ear. I slid my palms further
down her back and let my fingers grip her soft skin. She leaned back
slightly, taking both our weight as if balancing another person on
her thigh was no big deal. I gasped and tried to pull away. I know
she’d picked me up before, but she hadn’t held me up. That didn’t
sound like it would be much fun for her. Plus, breaking her ankle or
my face against the black tile was not the kind of shower sex I had
in mind.
“No,” she breathed. “Come on me.”
I blinked, licking away some of the water rushing over my lips.
I’d already given her my heart, whether she knew it or not, and
she had settled me on the counter the night before like I weighed
nothing at all. Maybe I could trust her lower body strength. I leaned
back into her and my clit thanked me with several sharp twitches
once I settled my weight back on her thigh. With our bodies melded
together, head to toe, a rush of air left my lungs.
“Yes, Like that.” She purred deeply, her chest puffing in and
out against mine. “Don’t worry. I can hold you, Red.”
My body starting swaying on its own, rocking against her as
she held her legs perfectly still. Her lips and her hands, though, were
very busy. She threaded her fingers through the base of my ponytail
and lightly gripped the back of my head then set about torturing me
with light passes of her tongue and her fangs along my neck. I lost it
when she nipped my skin.
I came. Not as much as my body wanted to, but enough to
make me jerk and shudder against her body, enough to make me
want so much more.
Camila chuckled and licked my j
aw. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I—I want—”
“More?”
“Yeah.” I nodded before going after her lips. She kissed me
back, sucking my tongue into her mouth.
That’s when things got interesting. That’s when she spread me
open.
• 111 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
Camila’s fingers slid down behind me. Slowly, she began
slipping her finger in and out of my pussy. The feeling of her gentle
thrusts drove me forward, and I continued to press myself against
her leg, grinding my already throbbing clit harder against her body.
That should have been enough to make me explode all over again.
I wanted to, so badly, but Camila seemed to be keeping me just
far enough away from that point, pushing me just enough that I
wouldn’t let go.
Her finger pulled back, dragging a trail of my juices up to my
asshole. She’d barely touched the puckered surface, but I tensed,
pulling away slightly.
“Camila,” I protested weakly. I didn’t want things to stop
altogether, I just—
“Shhh,” she whispered, trailing soft kisses across my lips and
my cheeks. “Remember what I told you? No pain. Only pleasure.”
“Okay, but I’ve never—”
“I know, Red,” she murmured, sliding her finger into my pussy
again. She added another and another, working me up all over again.
This time when her hand slipped a little higher, my body didn’t
resist. I wanted to come too much. I was way too high to even ease
back down.
She pushed in gently, easing just the tip of her finger inside me.
She was right. It didn’t hurt at all. Just the opposite. The pressure
nailed me right at the height of my slit. A violent shudder spread
over my belly and down through my kneecaps. I surged forward and
back, harder and faster, as fast as I could while our bodies were still
connected. Her finger slid in deeper and deeper.
Suddenly, there was a small prick of pain. I gasped and winced
a little, but she held me tightly, distracting me more with her kisses
and purrs, and the pain started to fade.
I could tell she was close. Camila’s nips and licks were
becoming needy. I had no idea if she’d fed before I woke up, but
she definitely wanted to bite me now. I could feel the tips of her
fangs just before our tongues would meet. My blood probably
wouldn’t help with any legit craving. Still, maybe it would give her
Better Off Red Page 13